


I Found You

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Kissing, Mr. Bug Appreciation Club, No one is surprised, Right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21872809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Marinette faints, Adrien steps in and they both find each other.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 10
Kudos: 295
Collections: Miraculous Ladybug and Cat/Chat Noir Reveal





	I Found You

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! I said I'll be very busy and it's true, but somehow I got this idea and couldn't resist jotting it down over the week. Stealing precious minutes here and there. I had to.  
> It's nothing new. Marinette realising she loves Chat? I know, I know. It's just that I'm convinced she's in denial. That's it. But I also got to touch upon Adrien's conflicting feelings for Marinette, so yeah. There is something new I guess.  
> It was inspired by a song. No surprise here. It's this wonderful track I love. Go give it a listen. Interstate – I Found You (Armin van Buuren Intro edit).

Adrien was looking around for a place to transform, hoping it wouldn’t take him too long. Ladybug was probably waiting for him, although he hadn’t seen her near the akuma yet. It was just his luck that it was near the school and he’d seen it quickly. 

Just as he was about to go behind the school, something small and red appeared before his face. 

“Tikki!” he reacted instinctively. He knew Ladybug’s kwami. But what was she doing there? “What are you doing here? Where is Ladybug?” He asked as Plagg shot out of his shirt and joined his kwami friend. 

“Oh Adrien, she was hurt during the akuma attack. Nothing serious! But she passed out! I couldn’t wake her up and couldn’t afford to wait. I’m sure someone will find her soon. But we need you!”

“Passed out?” he asked, panicked. A vision of Ladybug lying somewhere alone, unconscious filled his mind. He had to help her. But Tikki was right, he had to take care of the akuma first. Or it could get worse. 

“Don’t worry, Adrien. We’ll find M… m’lady as soon as possible,” Plagg chimed in. Adrien didn’t miss the moment of hesitation. It was as if he’d been about to say something else, not m’lady. His panicked brain somehow made a startling connection. Had he been about to say Marinette? Adrien remembered clearly that ill-fated attempt to guess Ladybug’s identity, when Plagg had warned him against it. He’d looked a bit panicked when Adrien had mentioned Marinette, but he’d decided to drop it anyway. And then he’d seen Multimouse. But he knew perfectly well that to protect her identity, Ladybug could have used some kind of trick on him. And now Plagg had almost revealed her himself. And it would make a lot of sense that Tikki had found him so fast, she probably knew he’d be nearby if they were in such proximity on a daily basis without him knowing it, right? 

He shouldn’t get his hopes up. Because he wouldn’t mind Ladybug being Marinette in the least, if he was honest. He cared very much about Marinette and she was a wonderful person. And.. well, definitely not just a friend. There. He’d admitted it. But if it turned out he was wrong about her having a secret identity, he’d be disappointed. He actually wanted her to be Ladybug. It would be the best thing in the world. So. Better leave it for now. He had a job to do now but he’d certainly get back to that later. Or try to forget it again for their own good? Oh God, the struggle was real. 

He paused to take off his ring, giving it to Plagg. Just as a precaution. No one knew what could happen during a fight after all. Then he transformed quickly trying to mentally put himself in the right frame to fight as Mr. Bug. And then he ran off to find the akuma.

It wasn’t hard to do. It was big and noisy and apparently angry. He really didn’t like them when they were on the rampage and impossible to reason with. This wouldn’t be fun, especially with no partner to watch his back. He had no chance to defeat that one on one. He circled around the monster, looking for a weak spot, considering its strategy (not that there was much of it). But he was drawn down to the street by people gathering to take pictures. He shook his head. Why were people so determined to risk their own lives just to get a sensational photo? He’d never understand it.

He landed softly in front of the group and said,

“Can you all go somewhere safe, please? This is not a good place to be right now.”

He tried to sound friendly and smile encouragingly. Relief bubbled in his chest as he saw them retreat slowly. He kept his eyes on them as they grumbled and pocketed their phones, but at least they listened to him. But he’d forgotten that the monster was coming in that direction and he was a walking target in the middle of the street. Just as he realised that, he heard a shout “No!” and was pushed away just as the monster threw a whole car in his direction. 

Adrien looked down in shock, adrenaline rushing through him after that near-death experience. He felt the small but strong body pressed to his, arms holding him tightly. And he saw the twin pigtails he knew so well. He was just starting to realise how well, since the view was so startlingly familiar he almost said “Ladybug,” but corrected himself at the last second.

“Marinette?” he said gently instead.

***

Marinette thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest, it was beating so wildly. This had been the single most frightening moment in her life, she realised. When she’d seen Chat, now Mr. Bug, in the middle of the street, about to be squashed by a car, she’d acted without thinking. She knew it was dangerous to go out there as a civilian, but she couldn’t just stand there and watch him meet his death. Thankfully, she’d managed to push him out of harm’s way and leave unscathed as well. But she needed a moment to calm down, to convince herself the worst was over. In the meantime, she couldn’t make herself to unwind her arms from around him. She needed the reassurance, hearing his strong heartbeat right next to her ear, feeling the warmth radiating from him. She’d never again take for granted any hug from him. This was the most precious thing in the world and she vowed to have as many of them as possible. 

She’d thought it had been bad enough when she’d woken up in a corner at school, disoriented. To find her earrings gone, along with Tikki. She was alright apart from those minutes she was missing. So she got up and went looking for… whoever it is she would find. Tikki had done the right thing. She would have lost precious time waiting for Marinette to wake up and it’s not like she could ask anyone to help. There was only one person she could turn to and where would she find Chat? It would be her trademark luck if he turned out to be nearby during this attack.

And then she’d seen him. Trying to warn everyone away, not thinking about himself. How so typical of Chat. Mr. Bug. But he had no partner to watch his back so he was left like an open target for the akuma. So that was why when she saw that the worst was about to happen, she just acted.

And now she was pressed against him, holding for dear life. 

“Marinette?” She heard him ask. No doubt wondering why she was reacting like this. Although… she’d once lied about being in love with him, could she get away with it now? 

“I’m sorry. Just give me a second. I was just so scared about you,” she admitted. Then added for good measure. “Where is Ladybug? Why are you...um,” she couldn’t exactly call him Mr. Bug without outing herself, right?

“Mr. Bug. Ladybug is indisposed at the moment, so I’m taking her place,” he said with a smile. “Thank you for saving me. Although this was really scary and you shouldn’t put yourself in danger like that,” he chided gently.

“I couldn’t just stand there and watch, Chat,” she said, finally looking up into his eyes. The tenderness there melted her heart. It was so disconcerting to know that this was Chat but to see him looking so different. And also to see him look like that at Marinette, she added to herself. Why was there a swarm of butterflies in her stomach all of a sudden? Maybe because she was still hugging him tightly and their faces were awfully close to each other. Like..

“You’re so brave,” he said then. “But now I have to go back, the akuma is still there. You should hide somewhere and wait it out.”

“Be careful. It almost got you - she said. She was still terrified, reliving that moment. Thinking for a split second that she’d lose him, that something too bad would happen and among the many regrets she’d face then would be that she never got to kiss him. The previous two times just didn’t count. It was silly and selfish at such a moment, but she couldn’t fight the impulse. 

She didn’t warn him but just cupped his cheeks and brought his face down to hers. When her lips met his, she felt him hesitate. But only for a second. Then he was kissing her back and she had to bite back a gasp. She was surprised by his reaction, he didn’t know she was Ladybug after all. She felt intrigued and also a little giddy. But most of all she was too tempted to keep on kissing him when she knew that she should let him go.

She pulled back, trying not to blush. This was Chat, but she’d still kissed him out of the blue, as Marinette. 

“Be careful,” she said. She knew they’d need to talk later. She owed him an explanation.    
He nodded and ran away towards the akuma. Now she had another job to do. 

“Plagg, come out,” she hissed. 

“Hey, Marinette,” he said, coming out behind her. “You’re ok. We were worried.”

“We need to help him,” she said briskly. 

“But how are we going to explain this? I was with him, not off to look for you.”

“We’ll think about that later. Now he needs me.”

And she was Lady Noire in a second. Without hesitation she dived head-first into the battle. Mr Bug was stunned when he saw her but he also looked distracted.

“M’lady?” he asked, confused. 

“I’m here, let’s do this. Don’t get distracted,” she commanded. She was a bit divided between the notion that she was distracting him as both Marinette and Ladybug. What was going on in his head, she wondered? He just needed to focus long enough to finish this. 

***

Thankfully, the fight didn’t take much longer. They were really stronger together, even when they were both affected by side matters. 

Once the akuma was cleansed, they hid in an alley. Mr. Bug didn’t have much time left. But he hugged her tightly before she could react. 

“I thought I’d lost you. When Tikki told me you’d been hit I panicked. I was so worried,” he said breathlessly.

“I was worried too. I... “ if she said this, it would be all out. But she had to, it was too late now.

“If I hadn’t pulled you out of that akuma’s path, you’d be… “ she choked. 

“What do you mean?” he looked at her strangely. But he didn’t seem that surprised for some reason. 

“Plagg, claws in,” she mumbled and saw his eyes widen as her transformation left Marinette int its wake.

“I’m sorry I kissed you like that, out of the blue. You didn’t know it was me and it didn’t make any sense, but I just felt the need to. I was so scared,“ she tried to explain but she was babbling.   
“Marinette. Wow. Well, this was certainly a good way to make me realise I’d been a bit wrong about my feelings for you,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes. What was that supposed to mean?

“But.. you turned me down for Ladybug. Before you knew we’re the same person. Right?”

She hadn’t really seen Chat since then, as Marinette. How could he possibly change his feelings for her? There was no obvious reason, as far as she knew. 

“Well, it would make more sense when…” he said just as the earrings gave their final beep. 

And it wasn’t Mr. Bug anymore before her. It wasn’t Chat too. It was Adrien looking at her.

She gulped. And he’d said his feelings for Marinette had not been what he expected? Now this somehow made more sense. But...

“Wow,” she said. She knew she needed to say more, but what?

But then he was hugging her and whispering in her ear,

“I found you.”

She hugged him tightly. This was all that mattered. 

“I found you first, kitty.” she smiled and saw the kwamis looking at them. No one could say this was wrong. After the emotional turmoil they’d been through, they deserved this. 

“About that kiss,” he said after a few minutes.

She laughed softly. 

“Yeah, I know. It was really out of the blue. It was not the right moment for me to realise I wanted to do it and to actually do it.”

“We’ll talk about that later. I have something to tell you too. But… Is it a better moment now?” he said with a very Chat-like grin.

“Totally,” she said pulling him down for another kiss. Not a hurried one or a scared one. A soft and loving kiss that resonated deep inside her soul. 

“I’m never letting you go, you know,” he said after that, a real promise in his eyes. 

“I don’t mind,” was all she could say. It was true. 

**Author's Note:**

> And I really think this is the last you'd hear from me for this year. But no promises. I still think it's great to end the year on that Mr. Bug note, since you know how much I love him. Anyway, happy holidays!


End file.
